Evaluation of the Cost Effectiveness of Illumination as a Safety Treatment at Rural Intersections

Project Number:

14-32

Project Description:

Late-night and early-morning driving periods have significantly higher incident and fatality rates than other periods of the day. Many of these crashes occur at rural intersections and intersection illumination provides a proven safety countermeasure to help ameliorate these risks. However, intersection illumination remains one of the main contributors to electrical power consumption in roadway maintenance and operations. This study seeks to provide a better understanding of the relationship between illumination and crash occurrence at rural intersections and to synthesize this understanding as guidance for transportation agencies to determine how and when illumination is cost effective.

The findings from this research is expected to significantly aid GDOT and other State DOTs to objectively determine if a rural intersection should be illuminated or if safety objectives can be met with reduced illumination level. This knowledge will aid engineers in making effective design and operational decisions that are cost effective without compromising desired safety goals. Additionally, this study will provide summary of the best practices and provide recommendation for practitioners as to the most cost-effective approaches.

"Evaluation of Cost Effectiveness of Illumination as a Safety Treatment at Rural Intersection”, presented at the Second Annual GDOT/GTI Transportation Research Poster Session in Atlanta, Georgia, September 24, 2014.

"Evaluation of Cost Effectiveness of Illumination as a Safety Treatment at Rural Intersection”, presented at the University Transportation Center (UTC) Conference for the Southeastern Region in Atlanta, Georgia, March 24-25, 2014.